‘American Idol’ Winner, Iam Tongi Shares Exclusive Studio Footage of Emotional Debut Single

American Idol winner Iam Tongi is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process for his debut single, “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

In the clip, the recent high school graduate can be seen belting out the lyrics of the heartfelt track in the studio alongside the production team.

“Here’s a behind-the-scenes look as I recorded ‘I’ll Be Seeing You,’ Tongi shared with fans on Wednesday (June 21).

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Solely penned by Season 18 Idol alum Francisco Martin, “I’ll Be Seeing You” serves as a tribute to a loved one who passed away. For Tongi, that person is his father, who died just months before he auditioned for American Idol. 

The lyrics find Tongi confessing that he’ll never forget “all your wits” and “all of the laughs.” While he admits he’s “lonely,” he has “no fear” because he finds comfort in the fact that he’ll see him again one day.     

“’Cause I’ll be seeing you / Seeing you / Wherever I go / And I’ll be / Be with you / Be with you / Wherever I’ll go,” Tongi sings on the chorus.

A Beacon Of Hope

The song is a beacon of hope for anyone who’s lost a loved one.

“Gone but your love/ Is all I have left/ I’ll stand tall/ You’ll stay in my arms/ Won’t stay in the dark/ ‘Cause you’ll look for me,” he sings.

The tune, which was released on May 19 ahead of the American Idol finale, was produced by Oak for the Orphanage, Feenom & Roland Kiss.

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Meaning Of The Song

Ahead of the tune’s release, Iam Tongi shared a clip describing what the song means to him. 

“The meaning of this song to me is when you lose someone you love, everything that you used to do with them reminds you of them,” Tongi explained. ”My dad had kidney failure and he used to go to dialysis. Every single time we pass to a dialysis place. Oh look, it’s dad. I just want people to understand where I’m coming from and to hopefully love the music.” 

Tongi recorded “I’ll Be Seeing You” at The Sound Factory with producer Oak Felder, an experience that he called “very special” and “awesome.”

“Oak Felder is such a cool guy. He’s so humble and he’s so chill,” Tongi continued. ”He was fun working with him.”

This song means a lot to me and I hope it resonates with all of you guys too. Listen and remember that your loved ones are always with you.

I'll Be Seeing You is out tonight at 9pm PST/12am EST pic.twitter.com/wlKO5kyJ33

— Iam Tongi (@wtongi) May 19, 2023

Iam Tongi was crowned winner of American Idol season 21. He beat out fellow standout contestants Megan Danielle and Colin Stough for the coveted title.

In a recent interview with Country Now, Tongi reflected on his big win and admitted that the news didn’t sink in until after the finale.

“It kind of hit me a little bit when I landed at the airport over here in Seattle because a lot of my mom’s coworkers in Delta, they were waiting outside. And they came with signs, and I was like, oh shoot. I was like, this might be for reals, you know what I mean? Finally, it kinda like hit me a little bit.”

An Emotional Journey

This isn’t the first time Iam has honored his father, who passed months before his American Idol audition. Iam Tongi auditioned for Idol with James Blunt’s 2019 hit “Monsters,” a tune Blunt wrote as a tribute to his father, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Disease.

His performance brought Bryan to tears and Richie told him, “Young man, you take this into the world and you’re going to fracture some souls. Your dad is very proud.” 

“This one’s for Rodney,” Perry exclaimed at the time, honoring Tongi’s late father.

Memorable Audition

Tongi previously explained that his late father is who taught him everything he knows about music. 

“All my life my dad told that singing is the only thing that was meant for me,” Tongi explained after receiving his golden ticket. “So, the main reason I did music was for my dad. That’s how me and my dad bonded, but ever since he passed away, it’s been hard. This one’s for Rodney… yeah, for my dad. You would think I would cry because I miss him, but it’s because I can hear his singing… Like I can hear his harmony and I can hear how he would harmonize with me on that song. [My dad] always wanted me to come on American Idol to sing, so I’m gonna try to make him proud. I know he’s with me through my music he’ll always be with me. I love you Dad!”

The emotional performance earned Tongi a ticket to Hollywood and served as the start of his incredible American Idol journey.

His audition went on to become one of the most-viewed auditions of season 21 of American Idol.

Throughout the season, Iam Tongi performed songs such as “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt, “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel, “Don’t Let Go” by Spawnbreezie, “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA, “Stuck On You” by Lionel Richie, “Bring It On Home To Me” by Sam Cooke, “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, and more.

Prior to joining American Idol, Tongi was active on TikTok where he shared many country covers, including Zach Bryan’s “Something In The Orange,” Vince Gill’s “Look At Us,” Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon,” Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” Diamond Rio’s “One More Day With You,” Brad Paisley’s “Whiskey Lullaby,” among many others.